I love how you can walk through the Fest and hear Native drums and Cajun accordion simultaneously at the Louisiana Folklife Village. Today I stopped to chat with the Cajuns who'd just wrapped up a little ditty on accordion and guitar. Clarence "Junior" Martin scooted over on his wood bench to let me have a seat. He swore he recognized me from last year, but I suspect that's what he says to all the pretty girls.

Mr. Clarence has been making accordions for 23 years now, from curly maple or bird's eye maple as well as more exotic woods such as rosewood. The accordions he had on display at the Fest have all been sold, but if you want one custom-made, you can choose the wood yourself. And he takes good care, too; he only finished last Jazzfest's accordion orders this past February. He also sells steel triangles (which are harder to play than you might think, at least in my experience) as well as Traditional Cajun Accordion Instruction videos and DVDs. For an old Cajun, Mr. Clarence is pretty tech savvy, with a website that he made sure I spelled correctly. I think I surprised him that I spelled accordion correctly on the first try. Not bad for a Yank!

He crafts his accordions with his daughter Pennye and his grandson Joel, who played accordion as I walked up. (Love the crawfish painted on the bellows!) Mr. Clarence describes Joel as the musician of the family, although Mr. Clarence playes steel guitar, bass guitar, and a little accordion too. He loves Jazzfest, saying it was the only festival they go to every year, 10-12 years now. The kids that work in the Folklife Village are a little like his own kids, he told me. And that's part of the reason I still get out to JF every year, despite the sun, and the crowds, and the ticket prices. It is a little like coming home to the family.